How to tame chickens?

[Me + Peeps]

I wsas just out there sitting with them feeding them treats and sweetpee(aptly named) came right up to me and ate right out of my hand and so i got more food from their feeder and she just kept eating out of my hands. i continued until my puppy got the chick feed bag for my three RIR chicks and spilled it all out

 

[LaSombra]

yay!

 

[foweler]

Quote:
Question from a newbie: I don't have any chickens yet; they're coming to me within the next few days. I'm curious about the pooping habits of chickens while they are on your lap and sitting on your chair. Other BYC's postings talk about their chickens hopping up to sit on the people's shoulders or arm, or walking into the kitchen from the porch. Do the chickens somehow naturally refrain from pooping when they are on people's laps and furniture? Or do you all just get so "used to it" that you don't find it unbearably yukky anymore?
-Carolyn

Sorry, I didn't notice this response until just now.

I started holding them on me in the house when they were 5 weeks old (3 weeks for the BL).
They each pooped on me once. That's it.

In all of the chicken parties I have had I have not been personally pooped on since then and they are 21ish weeks now.
They will poop on the rug near the door both before and after jumping up onto my chair but not actually in my chair or on me.
Most nights they don't poop at all.

 

[Chickenman35]

Me + Peeps :

i got three chickens that were not kept in the best conditions and are not tame i have sat in the run with them hours at a time trying to feed them treats out of my hand the closest they ever came was around 6-8 in when i was dead still. i would really like chickens that i could pick up and stroke and iof they don't fear me i would like to free range them.

Chickens are mostly only have one shot to be tamed and that's when they are chicks.we had 1 group of 6chicks and we handled them 3 times a day.they were the nicest and docile birds I had ever seen.some people say if you walk around with them in your arms for an hour every day it will take awhile but it still works.​

 

[foxypoproxy]

I disagree with some people saying you can only tame them if they are handled as chicks.
It also sometimes depends on the personality of the individual bird.

Ive have received many adult birds in the past that were terrified of humans and never socialized and later become lap chickens!
For example, i had gotten a barred rock that was about 6 years old or so and was just raised for meat and rarely handled.
I rescued her and at first she was very skittish.
But if you pick them up and hold them and pet them in your lap on a regular basis they get use to it and eventually like it.
Giving food and treats helps alot too.
I use to have my chickens following me around the yard and flying to me or jumping in my lap and i never raised any of them as chicks.

It is very possibly to tame adult birds, it just takes more work and longer for them to trust you is all.

Try your best and be patient

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The best way to tame birds is to not force yourself on them. Let them come to you. Offer treats freely to them every day, just tossing them on the ground. Talk to them in a soft, pleasant voice. Move slowly around them and don't try to grab them. Let them watch you and learn that you aren't a threat or aggressive towards them.

Don't do a hard stare at them, as that's what predators do. Turn your head away if they're watching you in a nervous way, so you don't look threatening. Watch them in a more casual manner, only glancing at them. Do slow blinks, that helps, too.

If you don't push them, they'll decide you aren't a threat sooner. They'll stop wasting a lot of time worrying about what you're going to do and relax. Once that happens, they'll be underfoot, crowding around for the treats.

Hulled sunflower seeds are like chicken crack, if you need something a little more special. Mealworms are also great, once they get used to eating wriggly things.

 

[cute chicks here]

My one chicken Percy lets me pick her up and both of them will jump up on the bench if I am sitting there. The bigger one doesn't like to be picked up though. I have to walk behind her gently clapping my hands to chase her in the coop when her free ranging time is over. They both love broccoli so I pick some and start walking toward the coop then turn around and hold some out for them to eat. They will eat it out of my hand. The bigger one,Petunia will chase me if she sees me heading to the garden because she wants broccoli. I think to tame them you just have to find a food they love and keep offering it out of your hand.

 

[pokemonshop]

I use to catch them while there eating and give them something better. It turns out they keep following me still. I have to keep giving them treats or I won't have any time alone ( other than behind fenced area ) . Maybe they will do the same.

 

[jwcutt]

Me + Peeps :

i got three chickens that were not kept in the best conditions and are not tame i have sat in the run with them hours at a time trying to feed them treats out of my hand the closest they ever came was around 6-8 in when i was dead still. i would really like chickens that i could pick up and stroke and iof they don't fear me i would like to free range them.

I say dont try to feed them out of your hand just yet, right now you just need to get them used to being around you. I'd take their treats and sprinkle them on the ground around you and they will eat around you and not even pay attention to you but they know your there. It will take awhile depending on how old they are but eventually you will be able to just lean down and either pet them or just scoop them up.

We had gotten our chickens in 2 batches of 12, 2 months apart. We handled the first batch often at first but til we got the coop/run built we slacked off. We got the second batch and they werent handled much at all except when we would clean out their box. once they were all out in their own coops the first batch was 4 months and the second was 2 months and they wanted nothing to do with us. I started hanging around them and bringing them treats, I would rake around the ground and hay and pile it up for them to scratch back down. The point is that I was very active around them. Now the first batch is 8 months and second is 6 months and there are only 2 out of the 24 birds that will not hang around if we bend to the ground, they take off but the others will just stay where they are or squat and we just pick them up as we please. My wife walks around with one of the Buffs like a football cause the buff likes to pick at her toes.

Just my experience
Jason​

 

[LawlessChicks]

Okay I had 9 chickens (one was a rooster we had to get rid of and now our eight hens are all much friendlier), they are a bit wary but they will all eat happily out of my hand and come to the coop door when I open it but only one comes and sits on my lap, ironically she is a white leghorn! I have RIRs, BAs, a Star, a Plymouth rock and the only one that comes up to me is the leghorn! I spent a lot of time with them as chicks though... The rest of them really don't like the idea of being held at all, but they settle down once you have them in your arms and give 'em a little treat. I spend hours in the coop on a regular basis now but they are still inconsistent as which ones today will be more or less friendly.